The Dolomites...

The Dolomites are awesome. The end. Hahaha but honestly, what can I say about this stupidly stunning cycling region of northern Italy with a heavy dose of Austrian culture, that people don't already know?

Have you been here? Then you know that the mountains, cols, and valleys are ridiculously epic. You know that Austrian and Ladin are spoken as much as Italian, and that the cuisine is just as diverse but always delicious.

They are Italian, so the friendliness and consideration to cyclists and all visitors is always guaranteed. And dressing appropriately in the latest cycling fashion, hiking or mountain biking, promenading the streets…always stylish and with plenty of shops to help you look the part!

The Maratona dles Dolomites has been around for years since the first event on 12th July 1987. The year 2020 was cancelled and we missed our annual pilgrimage to the Dolomites. This year the committee who organises it, is continuing with the organisation of the event and we can hardly wait.

It is a festival of cycling and normally filled with languages from around the world, laughter, with vibrant Maratona jerseys and vests as well as those preferring their own kits and thrown into the mix, the diverse helmets and sunglasses. Naturally, there are a huge range to bikes …even mountain bikes (kudos to those hardy folks!) and massively supportive crowds lining the roads, cheering, shouting encouragement or heaving enormous cow bells and blowing on alpine horns.

Food and drink are always strategically placed and such a relief for the average rider (that’s me! OK, slowest rider!!).Plus, there are the friendships forged during the lead up to Sunday and during the day of the event – really!!

So, I cannot emphasise enough how much the Maratona dles Dolomites means to me, to my family, to my friends and I really urge you to join us this year if possible…and if not then put it on the list for 2022.

A plu tert (see you later in Ladin)

Yvette